2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania
9
Ranked Colleges
488
Degrees Awarded
$18,100
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 16,905 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 60th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $51,352 and had an average of $29,054 in loans still to pay off.
Across Pennsylvania, there were 488 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,877 and $27,000 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in public administration. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public administration programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public administration program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 59 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
UPenn also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend UPenn is $580 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full UPenn Public Administration Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 17 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, Carnegie Mellon has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Carnegie Mellon University is $16,456 for pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Public Administration at Carnegie Mellon
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, West Chester University of Pennsylvania landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, this fairly large public school handed out 55 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, WCUPA has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for WCUPA is $15,718 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Administration at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. Pitt is a public institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 72 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Pitt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is $15,084 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Public Administration at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Villanova University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 114 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
Villanova also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Villanova University is $24,907 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Administration at Villanova
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Ship, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania is $18,076 for pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Administration at Ship
With a ranking of #7, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, this medium-sized public school handed out 16 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, Kutztown University has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Kutztown University is $18,732 for pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Public Administration at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Strayer University - Pennsylvania came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Trevose, Pennsylvania, this small private for-profit school awarded 10 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, Strayer University - Pennsylvania has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Strayer University - Pennsylvania is $24,051 for pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full Strayer University - Pennsylvania Public Administration Report
Widener University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Widener is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chester, Pennsylvania. It awarded 11 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, Widener has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $29,378 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Widener.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Administration at Widener University
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
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